My Current Situation :
- I tried to change the name of the user folder for my main account.
- Windows Explorer didn't allow me to change the subfolder directly, so I tried changing the path value of ProfileImagePath through the Registry Editor from a new administrator account (sub)
- After changes to the registry were made, I logged out of the sub admin account, restarted my laptop and signed back in through the main user.
I had the following complications:
- My icons are nowhere to be found yet by BG and dark theme remained.
- fixed by changing the path value back to the original in sub admin, though my icons are in the wrong places
- Critical Error : The Start menu isn't working. (!! still unresolved)
Apart from this, all my applications (even Edge and Google Chrome) are working properly.
Honest Mistake : I failed to backup the registry (I only exported it after the said complications have arised)
Few things I've tried:
sfc /scannow and dism in Safe Mode w/ Networking
scan shows no integrity violations for dism, it said "operation complete" but no change after restart
restart application identity service
changes cannot be applied, it shows "Access Denied" in both admin accounts??
reset tile database
- cannot find the database folder
re-register start menu
used a batch file from the bleepingcomputers forum (link below), also tried GetAppxchange in administrative Powershell
Attempt 1:
Get-appxpackage -all *shellexperience* -packagetype bundle |%
{add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($_.installlocation + “\appxmetadata\appxbundlemanifest.xml”)}
This did not return anything.
Attempt 2:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach
{Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml”}
This returned "Cannot find path ...\AppXManifest.xml" because it does not exist" I'm assuming this has something to do with the AppxPackage it's been referring to?
Other remarks:
- System restore and System Image Recovery - non-applicable since I have no restore points
- Start Menu Troubleshooter - no longer exists
Other than the questions from this forum and Microsoft community, here are some specific links I've been to:
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/729498/critical-error-your-start-menu-isnt-working-after-user-profile-recreation/
- https://howtofixwindows.com/windows-10-critical-error-your-start-menu-isnt-working/
- https://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/125068-how-to-fix-your-windows-10-start-menu-reset-tile-database
What I'm planning to do now:
Will copy the %localappdata% from the sub admin to the main, Currently copying the AppData\Local folder from my main onto a hard drive for backup
- Edit : On second thought, this might not be a good idea since the two Local folders have different subfolders and I'm afraid replacing my main Local folder altogether might cause errors for some apps
I have spent hours trying to find a solution. I would love to fix this as soon as possible.
I would appreciate anyone who would give their time to help and tell me if I'm missing anything.
Thank You!
%UserProfile%directory through the Registry - all you're going to do is corrupt the User Profile, which you've done. You can try undoing the changes you've done, but the only for sure way to fix User Profile corruption is to create a new user and move all data over to the new User Profile.